What does it take to startup? A brilliant idea, perhaps, loads of money, a great set of cofounders, and maybe a degree from an IIT or an IIM? Or just a cohesive team and a problem to solve?
On Saturday at The Economic Times Power of Ideas roundtable in the Capital, about 850 people had turned up to learn the nuances of entrepreneurship from the experts.
Navneet Singh, chief executive of grocery delivery chain PepperTap, in his keynote address spoke about his voyage from Bijnor town in Uttar Pradesh to become a merchant navy officer before establishing his startup. “My father was a police sub-inspector. None in my family even ran a shop ever,” said Singh, 36. PepperTap, started last year, has raised nearly $10 million (Rs 64 crore) from investors including Sequoia Capital and SAIF Partners.
The Economic Times Power of Ideas roundtable panel discussions are being held in eight cities in association with Jio, Department of Science and Technology and CIIE at IIM Ahmedabad. The panel in Delhi comprised PepperTap’s Singh; Varun Khaitan, cofounder of UrbanClap; Rahul Khanna, cofounder of Trifecta Capital Partners; Rajesh Sawhney, cofounder of Inner Chef and founder of GSF Accelerator; and Harjaap Mann, managing director of Proof of Performance.
The Economic Times Power of Ideas roundtable panel discussions are being held in eight cities in association with Jio, Department of Science and Technology and CIIE at IIM Ahmedabad. The panel in Delhi comprised PepperTap’s Singh; Varun Khaitan, cofounder of UrbanClap; Rahul Khanna, cofounder of Trifecta Capital Partners; Rajesh Sawhney, cofounder of Inner Chef and founder of GSF Accelerator; and Harjaap Mann, managing director of Proof of Performance.
The panel also insisted that startup success is not all about raising money. “Look at what Whatsapp was able to achieve and change the world with just $10 million of capital,” who started InnerChef in March, this year. The panel agreed with the audience that venture capital firms in India had a bias in favour of founders from top professional colleges such as the IITs and IIMs. “If you’re not, it’s just one more hurdle that you have to cross,” said Sawhney, also an investor in more than 30 companies.